Vehicle body door latch and locking system



A. ARLAUSKAS ETAL 3,359,767

VEHICLE BODY DOOR LATCH AND LOCKING SYSTEM Dec. 26, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 22, 1965 ,4 avg/[r022 1 mm: r 0115 as,

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VEHICLE BODY DOOR LATCH AND LOCKING SYSTEM Filed Nov. 22, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent 3,359,767 VEHICLE BODY DOOR LATCH AND LOCKING SYSTEM Alfonsas Arlauskas, Livonia, and Bernt E. Meland, Royal Oak, Mich., and Barthold F. Meyer, Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada, assignors to General Motors Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Delaware Filed Nov. 22, 1965, Ser. No. 508,896 4 Claims. (Cl. 70264) This invention relates to vehicle bodies and more particularly to an improved vehicle body door latch and locking system.

In the copending application of T. H. Johnstone et al., Ser. No. 508,894, assigned to assignee of the present application, there is disclosed a new and improved vehicle body door latch and locking system departing entirely from prior concepts in providing the myriad of customary door latching, locking, and other functions with individual mechanical latch assemblies having but basically two mechanical latch elements or parts, i.e., a bolt and a detent. All functions other than the simple bolting and detenting, such as detent release from inside and outside the vehicle, locking against outside release, automatic undogging, keyless locking, and coincidental or simultaneous locking of all of the vehicle body doors, are accomplished entirely by electrical or other power-operated means.

By this invention, there is provided in such a door latch and locking system new and improved means for selective free wheeling of the inside operating or release means for each door latch assembly, whereby the doors may not be unlatched by normal inside actuation when the system is in locked condition. Means are, however, further provided for automatically allowing selective inside operating for release of the door latch when there exists a predetermined operating condition of the vehicle wherein the doors may be safely opened, and without requiring that the system first be placed in unlocked condition. In an embodiment of an electrical door latch and locking system according to the invention, a double-pole inside operating switch for controlling a detent release solenoid has a first pole thereof normally actuable to energize the solenoid when locking switch means in series with the first pole are in an unlocked condition, and has a second pole thereof alternately actuable to energize the solenoid when some further switch means in parallel with the locking means are placed in a condition for such energization while the locking means are in locked condition. This alternate energization condition may occur by the selection of the vehicle power transmission to a park" or neutral position putting the vehicle body at rest. When such conditions do not obtain, as when the vehicle is in motion, the further switch means are automatically conditioned to prevent the alternate inside latch release and also to cause actuation of the locking means to locked condition so that inside latch release may not be effected in any event, thereby insuring safety of the vehicle passengers.

The primary object of this invention is to provide an improved vehicle body door latch and locking system including inside latch release or operating means which are operable only during the existence of some predetermined safe operating condition of the vehicle. Another object of the invention is to provide in a power-operated door latch and locking system control means responsive to a first predetermined safe operating condition of the vehicle for allowing an alternate inside latch release or operation while the system is in locked condition, and also responsive to a further or unsafe operating condition of the vehicle for placing the system in a condition 3,359,767 Patented Dec. 26, 1967 preventing both normal and alternate inside latch release or operation.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the invention will be readily apparent from the following specification and the drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of a vehicle body including a door latch and locking system according to this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view of a mechanical latch assembly for the system;

FIGURE 3 is a sectional View of a master control switch for the system; and

FIGURE 4 is a schematic of the system.

Referring now particularly to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, a latch and locking system according to this invention is shown and described as installed in a sedan style vehicle body designated generally as 10 and including at each side thereof a front door 12 hingedly mounted adjacent its forward edge for swinging movement between an open position as shown and a closed position, not shown, and a rear door 14 similarly mounted for swinging movement between open and closed positions. Within the forward passenger area of the body is mounted the usual steering column and wheel assembly 16 which in turn mounts thereon a conventional transmission selector 18.

Proceeding first with particular reference to the front door 12 shown, there is provided therewithin a mechanical latch assembly 20 which, as seen best in FIGURE 2 illustrating a righthand door version, includes a latch frame or base plate 22 adapted to be bolted to the rearward ljam'b panel 24 of the door and having at one edge a striker receiving opening or cutout 26 contiguous with a similar opening in the jamb panel, FIGURE 1. A forked bolt member 28 is rotatably mounted on the latch plate at 29 for movement between a latched position, as shown in FIGURE 2, and an unlatched position, indicated in FIG- URE 1, wherein the fork of the bolt is disposed to receive a conventional headed pin striker element 30 extending forwardly from the body center pillar. As the door moves to closed position, bolt 28 is caused to rotate counterclockwise over and embrace the shank of striker 30, which is further embraced by the cutout edges of the plate 22 for firm vertical alignment of the door. The head of the striker overlies the bolt in the latched posit-ion thereof to provide an interlock against longitudinal separation of the door and body. For releasably holding the bolt 28 in latched position, a detent lever 34 is pivoted on plate 22 at 36 and includes a detent shoulder 38 engageable in the fully latched position of the bolt with a shoulder 40 thereon. Should the door 12 be incompletely moved toward fully closed position, the detent shoulder 38 on the detent lever is initially engageable with a safety shoulder 42 in an intermediate or partially rotated safety position of the bolt. A coil tension spring 44 is hooked between a leg of the bolt and a lanced out tab on plate 22 to bias the bolt to unlatched position. Shoulders 40 and 42 on the bolt, and detent shoulder 38 on the detent lever are formed for engagement along a line so angularly oriented with respect to an intersecting radius from the bolt pivot 29 and/or a perpendicular to an intersecting radius from detent lever pivot 36 that a significant cam-out force is exerted on the detent lever by the forced clockwise tendency on the bolt from unlatched position that arises from spring 44. In conventional practice, this tendency of course also may arise from the compression of the usual seal strip around door 12. The cam-out force is that illustrated resolved component of the unlatching force seeking to rotate detent lever counterclockwise from detenting position, the other component being reacted at the pivot 36 of the detent lever. For holding the detent lever in engagement with the bolt shoulders in opposition to the cam-out component, a holding or blocking lever 46 is pivoted on the latch plate at 48 and includes a pair of blocking shoulders 50 and 52 adapted to underlie a foot 54 at the remote end of the detent lever in either detenting position thereof.

A coil torsion spring 60 biases the detent lever clockwise for engagement with bolt 28, while a further torsion spring 62 biases the blocking lever counterclockwise for operative engagement with the detent foot 54. It is seen that to release the bolt 28', there is required only that minimum force and travel sufficient to rotate the blocking lever 46 slightly clockwise against the action of spring 62 and the friction between either blocking shoulder G or 52 and foot 54 arising from the cam-out component thereon. Accordingly, mounted to the upper end of the blocking lever 46 a significant lever arm away from the pivot thereof, is a shiftable armature 56 of a solenoid 58 mounted to the latch plate, the solenoid being only of that minimum output rating suflicient to provide the aforenoted minimum release force. While it is of course possible to eliminate blocking lever 46 and use but a single pivoted detent lever in conventional manner, it is apparent that the mechanical latch assembly portion of the system of this invention includes but generally three moving parts providing for latching of door 12 in either a fully closed or intermediate safety position thereof, and positive detenting on the bolt adapted for minimum release as by the output of a miniature solenoid.

With regard to this combination of full and safety latching provisions on the bolt and a minimum release detenting arrangement therefor, it is to be noted that bolt 28 is formed with a bearing surface 63 extending between the shoulders and 42 generally concentrically of pivot 29 of the bolt. Thus, assuming the bolt 28 to be initially detented in safety latched position with detent foot 54 engaged on the lower blocking shoulder 52, further counterclockwise rotation of the bolt may proceed with the detent lever remaining stationary and detent shoulder 38 merely riding over the surface 63 until permitted to be biased into shoulder 40 when the bolt reaches fully latched position. Detent foot 54 accordingly cams upwardly and over the upper blocking shoulder to detent the bolt in fully latched position. In this way, with door 12 having been incompletely slammed shut to safety latched position, the door may be merely pushed further inward to full latched position, and it is not required that solenoid 58 be energized for re-opening and slamming shut of the doorj Having thus accomplished the latching and detenting functions for each door, the remaining functions of the system reside completely in the power-operating arrangement now to be described. While this description and the drawings specifically refer to an electric power-operating system, it will be understood that other forms of poweroperation are equally feasible and may employ in place of the solenoid 58 some other form of detent release operator such as a vacuum motor. In this embodiment, the power source for the system is provided by the vehicle battery 64 which is suitably grounded and delivers current through either of two primary leads 66 and 68. Lead 66 extends to one terminal means 70 of a locking control or master locking switch assembly 72 which is physically located, as seen in FIGURE 1, immediately ahead of the vehicle operator on the vehicle dashboard. A particular description of the master control switch, will appear later. Assuming that the movable contact member 74 of master switch 72 is closed .to terminal 70,

battery current thus flows to a junction 76 from which extends a solenoid lead 78 connected, for purposes of present description, to one side of solenoid 58 of the latch assembly 20 for front door 12. Extending from the other side of the solenoid is a lead 80 to a junction 82 from which extends an inside operating lead 84 and an outside operating lead 86. Lead 84 extends to one contact of a normally open double pole switch 88 suitably mounted to a conventional arm rest 92 on the inside of front door 12, FIGURE 1, and operable by a pivoted inside switch operating member 94. When it is desired to energize solenoid 58 for release of latch 20 of the front door, the operator merely pivots member 94 to thereby close a movable grounded contact 96 of switch 88 to contact 91 and thus ground the solenoid. Armature 56 is thus withdrawn to rotate blocking lever 46 clockwise and release the detent lever for rotation of bolt 28 from the latched position.

Lead 86 on the other hand extends to one contact 100 of an outside operating means or switch 98 which includes a movable grounded contact 102 which is normally open from contact 100 but closed to a further contact 104 for purposes later to appear. Movable contact 162 is suitably adapted for deflection by a push rod 106 or similar element of an outside operating handle assembly 108 mounted to the exterior of door 12, FIG- URE 1. Solenoid 58 is thus energizable by the mere depression of the push rod 106 to connect contact 100 to the grounded movable contact 102.

Considering now the operating of the left side rear door 14, it is seen in FIGURE 4 that an identical latch assembly 20' therefor likewise includes a miniature solenoid 58. For energization of this solenoid, there extends thereto from junction 76 a rear door solenoid lead 110, and another solenoid lead 112 extends to a junction 114 to which is connected an inside operating lead 116 and an outside operating lead 118. Lead 116 extends to a rear door inside operating means or normally open and grounded single throw switch 120 operable by a rear door inside operating member 122 which is similar to that for front door switch 88. Lead 118 extends toa rear door outside operating means or normally open and grounded switch 124 which is again operable by a push rod 126 of an outside handle assembly 128, FIGURE 1. As with the front door, manipulation of either switch 120 or 124 energizes the rear door solenoid for release of the door from either the inside or the outside of the vehicle.

It is apparent from the preceding description that operation of the latches 20 and 20" for the left side front and rear doors 12 and 14 is dependent upon current flow through the closed contacts of master control switch 72 to the junction 76. It should now also be understood that this switch and junction 76 similarly control the right side front and rear doors of the body which employ latch as semblies and detent release solenoids identical to that described above. The right side front and rear doors are accordingly further provided with inside and outside operating switches identical to those just described.

Locking For locking of all four vehicle doors, it is apparent that the contact member 74 of master switch 72 need merely be opened from terminal 70 so as to prevent current supply to all detent release solenoids. This may be simply accomplished by a manual switch actuator, but as it is desired that locking control of the various doors be accomplished from a number of stations within the vehicle, the master control switch 72 incorporates provisions for remote operation thereof.

Referring to FIGURE 3, the master control switch, previously mentioned as being physically located on the dashboard, includes an insulative mounting body 130 having secured thereto the one terminal 70 and a complementary further contact terminal 132. The movable contact member 74 is fabricated of suitable spring steel or other resilient material and includes intermediate its ends an undulated portion 134. The contact member is so formed and secured to the terminal 132 as to be disposed When relaxed in a position indicated in broken lines, wherein its contact is open from the terminal 70. An actuating member 136 includes a portion 138 slidably received within the body 130 of the switch, a finger portion 140 manipulable by the vehicle operator or passenger, and a leg 142 extending into engagement with the contact member 74. Actuating member 136 is reciprocable between a locking position, indicated in broken lines, wherein the end of leg 142 lies to one side of the undulated portion 134, and an unlocking position wherein the leg 142 has resiliently deformed the contact member into closure with terminal 70 and lies to the other side of the undulated portion 134. This undulated portion and the leg 242 provide resilient detenting means for releasably holding the actuating member in either position in which it is placed. Leg 142 mounts an armature 144 extending to either side of the leg for reception in an opposed pair of solenoid actuators 146 and 148. Solenoid 146 is adapted upon energization to overcome the resilient detenting and draw armature 144 and the actuating member 136 leftwardly to unlocking position closing the contact member 74 to terminal 70, while solenoid 148 is operable to overcome the detenting and draw the armature and actuating member rightwardly to locking position.

Reverting to FIGURE 4, master control switch 72 is remotely operable from a number of stations within or outside the vehicle. The unlocking solenoid 146 has connection at one side thereof to primary lead 66 and battery 64, while a lead 150 extends from the other side thereof to a junction 152, a lead 154 and a further lead 156 carrying a contact 158. Locking solenoid 148 is connected at one side thereof directly to junction 76 and has connection at its other side through a lead 160 to a contact 162. Contacts 158 and 162 reside in an individual door locking switch or inside selector means mounted, for example, to the inside of the front door 12 for convenient manipulation by the vehicle operator and including a manual selector 164 alternately pivotable to either close a grounded contact 166 to contact 158 whereby to ground and energize unlocking solenoid 146, or to close a grounded contact 168 to contact 162 to ground and energize the locking solenoid 148. It is to be understood that leads 150 and 160 may connect with a similar individual selector means mounted to the inside of the right side front door for convenient control of master control switch 72 by the front seat passenger. I Extending from junction 152 is a lead 170 to an outside selector means or key cylinder lock and switch 172, while a lead 174 connecting with lead 160 joins with a lead 176 also extending to the switch 172. Switch 172 is suitably mounted to the outside door handle assembly 108 on front door 12, FIGURE 1, and includes a first set of contacts 178 responsive to rotation of the lock cylinder in one direction to ground leads 176 and 174 to the locking solenoid 148, while opposite cylinder rotation actuates a second set of contacts 180 to ground leads 170 and 150 to unlocking solenoid-146. It is thus seen that master control switch 72 is operable from outside the vehicle by an authorized person possessing a suitably coded key to either lock or unlock the system. A similar outside key cylinder lock and switch may be provided on the right side front door and similarly wired to the master control switch for control of the system.

Automatic undogging Referring to FIGURE 2, the latch assembly 20 for each front door 12 has provided thereon an undogging switch 182 including a resilient contact 184 having an insulative nose bearing on the upper portion of blocking lever 46 which holds the switch open when located in the position shown in solid lines. Assuming now that the front door 12 has been unlatched and opened to allow rotation of bolt 28 clockwise to unlatched position, a surface 186 of the bolt displaces the detent lever 34 to a released position, not shown, wherein detent foot 54 lies below the lower end of the blocking lever to permit the blocking lever to assume its full line position under the action of torsion spring 62. Subsequent movement of door 12 to closed position rotates the bolt 28 counterclockwise to allow torsion spring 60 to return the detent lever clockwise initial- 1y to move detent foot 54 over the lower blocking shoulder 52 corresponding to the safety position of the bolt, and then further clockwise and over the upper blocking shoulder 50 in full latched position. It is seen that this movement of detent foot 54 causes oscillation of the blocking lever between the solid and broken line positions shown to alternately open and momentarily close the contact 184 of the undogging switch 182. As is apparent, this closure occurs even as the latch assembly moves only to safety latched condition, as well as with complete movement to full latched condition.

Reverting again to FIGURE 4, the contact 184 is connected by a lead 188 to the junction 152 and thence from lead to the unlocking solenoid 146, while the other contact of the undogging switch is connected via a lead 190 to the normally grounded contact 104 of the outside operating switch 98. Thus, assuming that the vehicle operator or passenger has initially placed the master control switch 72 in locked condition and then moves the open front door '12 toward closed position, it is seen that the resulting movement in latch assembly 20 momentarily closes automatic undogging switch 182, at least once, to establish a circuit from battery 64 through unlocking solenoid 146 and to the grounded contact 104 of the outside operating switch 98. This energizes the unlocking solenoid to automatically return the master control switch 72 to unlocked condition so that the vehicle operator may not inadvertently lock himself out of the vehicle. Again, it is to be understood that the latch assembly for the right side front door includes identical provisions for automatic undogging.

Keyless locking Assuming the conditions just described in connection with automatic undogging, means are provided for allowing the vehicle operator or passenger to initially place the master switch 72 in locked condition and subsequently slam the door shut as described, yet have the locking system remain in locked condition. As seen in FIGURE 4, the automatic undogging sequence depends on precxistent closure between contacts 104 and 102 of the outside operating switch 98 whereby to ground one leg of the undogging switch 182. If the operator or passenger consciously desires that the system remain in unlocked condition as he moves the door closed, he need merely depress the push rod 106 to break contact between contacts 104 and 102, and the undogging switch 182 is thus not operative to ground unlocking solenoid 146. In this connection, it is to be noted that the breaking of contact by depression of the push rod need be effected only as the door immediately approaches fully closed position. Again, keyless locking is also contemplated for the right side front door.

' Automatic locking The latch and locking system also includes provisions for automatic locking of master control switch 72 during some predetermined operating condition of the vehicle ordinarily necessitating such locking out of safety considerations. This, for example, may obtain from the placing of the transmission selector 18 in forward range. As seen in FIGURE 4, the transmission selector has suitably associated therewith an automatic locking switch 192 having one grounded contact 194 disposed intermediate the neutral and drive positions so as to be engaged or wiped by a movable contact 196 responsive to rotation of the transmission selector between these positions. Contact 196 is connected by a lead 198 to lead 174 which connects through lead to the locking solenoid 148. Thus, assuming the master control switch 72 to be initially in unlocked condition wherein the contact member 74 is closed to battery 64 such that all vehicle doors may be unlatched, it is seen that movement of the transmission selector from neutral to drive momentarily completes the circuit through the locking solenoid and between ground and battery 64. This momentary circuit completion energizes the locking solenoid to automatically place the master control switch in locked condition wherein the contact member 74 is opened from terminal 70.

Selective inside unlatching when locked Assuming now that the master control switch 72 is in locked condition, the operator or front passenger may cause energization of the detent release solenoid of the respective front door latch assembly without having first to unlock the master control switch 72 by means of either the selector 164, the manual actuator member 136 or otherwise. A switch 200 connected to the primary lead 68 connects to a lead 202 extending to the second pole of the double-pole switch 88 on front door 12, as well as to the counterpart inside operating switch on the right front door. The second set of normally open contacts 204 of switch 88 are again closable by the inside operating member 94 to transmit current from battery 64 through the closed switch 200 and into the solenoid lead 78 to a solenoid 58. Concurrently, contacts 90 and 96 are closed so that lead 84 is closed to ground. Switch 200 is preferably arranged so as not to be closed unless the vehicle is in such a condition as to safely allow door opening movement. Switch 200 may thus be responsive to the transmissoin selector 18 so that it is open when the selector is in forward or reverse ranges and closed when the selector is in park or neutral.

It is apparent that when using an inside operating member 94 to unlatch and open either front door under the above selective inside unlatching conditions, the undogging switch 182 will be momentarily closed as the parts of latch assembly 20 displace from fully latched position, and accordingly, master control switch 72 will be returned to unlocked condition as by the automatic undogging sequence described above.

Having thus described our invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a vehicle body including a door movable between open and closed positions, a power-operated door latch and locking system comprising: latch means movable between latched and unlatched positions, movable detent means engageable with said latch means to hold said latch means in the latched position thereof, power-operated means operatively connected to said detent means and adapted upon energization to move said detent means out of engagement with said latch means, a source of power, and circuit means for controlling energization of said power-operated means, said circuit means including inside operating means for selectively connecting said poweroperated means with said source, outside operating means for selectively connecting said power-operated means with said source, locking means for selectively preventing connection of said power-operated means with said source by said outside operating means, and means responsive to a predetermined operating condition of the vehicle body for permitting connection of said poweroperated means to said source by said inside operating means only during the existence of such predetermined operating condition.

2. In a vehicle body including a door movable between open and closed positions, a power-operated door latch and locking system comprising: latch means movable between latch and unlatched positions; movable detent means engageable with said latch means to hold latch means in the latched position thereof; power-operated means operatively connected to said detent means and adapted upon energization to move said detent means out of engagement with said latch means; a source of power; and circuit means for controlling energization of said power-operated means, said circuit means including inside operating means for selectively connecting said power-operated means with said source, outside operating means for selectively connecting said power-operated means with said source, locking means in series with said inside operating means and with said outside operating means and selectable between a locked condition for preventing connection of said power-operated means with said source by either said inside or said outside operating means and an unlocked condition, and means in parallel with said locking means and responsive to a predetermined operating condition of the vehicle body for permitting connection of said power-operated means to said source by said inside operating means when said locking means are in locked condition.

3. In a vehicle body including a door movable between open and closed positions, a power-operated door latch and locking system comprising: latch means movable between latched and unlatched positions, movable detent means engageable with said latch means to hold said latch means in the latched position thereof, electrical power-operated means operatively connected to said detent means and adapted upon energization to move said detent means out of engagement with said latch means, a source of electrical power, and circuit means for controlling energization of said power-operated means, said circuit means including first double-pole switch means operable from inside the vehicle body for selectively connecting said power-operated means with said source, second switch means operable from outside the vehicle body for selectively connecting said power-operated means with said source, locking switch means in series with a first pole of said first switch means and with said second switch mean for selectvely preventing connection of said poweroperated means with said source either by the first pole of said first switch means or by said second switch means, and automatic switch means connected to the second pole of said inside switch means and responsive to a predetermined operating condition of the vehicle body for permitting connection of said power-operated means to said source by the second pole of said first switch means when said locking switch means are in locked condition.

4. A system according to claim 3 and including actuating means for said locking switch means, and means in said automatic switch means responsive to a predetermined other operating condition of the vehicle body for causing said actuating means to place said locking switch means in locked. condition.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,036,453 5/ 1962 A. Dubonnet 7O2O7 3,279,227 10/1966 T. Kawabe -264 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

R. L. WOLFE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. IN A VEHICLE BODY INCLUDING A DOOR MOVEABLE BETWEEN OPEN AND CLOSED POSITIONS, A POWER-OPERATED DOOR LATCH AND LOCKING SYSTEM COMPRISING: LATCH MEANS MOVABLE BETWEEN LATCHED AND UNLATCHED POSITIONS, MOVABLE DETENT MEANS ENGAGEABLE WITH SAID LATCH MEANS TO HOLD SAID LATCH MEANS IN THE LATCHED POSITION THEREOF, POWER-OPERATED MEANS OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO SAID DETENT MEANS AND ADAPTED UPON ENERGIZATION TO MOVE SAID DETENT MEANS OUT OF ENGAGEMENT WITH LATCH MEANS, A SOURCE OF POWER, AND CIRCUIT MEANS FOR CONTROLLING ENERGIZATION OF SAID POWER-OPERATED MEANS, SAID CIRCUIT MEANS INCLUDING INSIDE OPERATING MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY CONNECTING SAID POWEROPERATED MEANS WITH SAID SOURCE, OUTSIDE OPERATING MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY CONNECTING SAID POWER-OPERATED MEANS 